A while back, I posted an article called Cooking Perfect Fried Rice, & if that title is true, then why are we here? Well, looking over that fried rice recipe, I realized that there are things that could have been done better. Moreover, over Christmas break, I spent several weeks not making fried rice. Getting home, I couldn't remember how to make the dish. As such, I needed a better method.

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Update: I've made some changes to this recipe since I've posted it. I think it's better as a result.

Those of you who've known me for a while have probably, at some point, heard about my obsession with Kung Pao Chicken. I've always really liked it as a recipe, but it wasn't until I started eating at Little Szechuan in Doraville, GA that I truly fell hard for the dish. Their recipe was something I could probably eat everyday for the rest of my life. They load it up with jicama and pickled gai choy: it's truly delicious. Ever since then, my Kung Pao Chicken interest has turned into a mania. I've eaten the dish at countless restaurants (the most memorable has to be the Georgia Tech cafeteria's take on the dish: boiled chicken parts, peanut butter, canned chicken broth, and soy sauce (I'm serious; eating this dish made me cry)). Now that I live in a Chinese restaurant vacuum (the best place in the area still has Chop Suey on the menu!), my Kung Pao Chicken project took on a new urgency. While I still haven't mastered the vegetables (partly b/c I can't get reliable jicama in State College and can't get gai choy at all), I think I've finally nailed down a sauce that is very similar to the one at Little Szechuan but is also a lot more flavorful.

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Update: I've posted another, more thorough take on fried rice here.

I really, really like fried rice and none of the restaurants in State College do it right. The best fried rice I've ever had is from a place called Yen Jing in Doraville, GA. It was greasy, salty, and, most importantly, it had this amazing smoked flavor. I could never get it right, but I've finally figured out the method.

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